


We say "I love you" but we ain't together

by Hambarton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, childish teasing, double layer dating, they're all children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-31 16:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21449062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hambarton/pseuds/Hambarton
Summary: Since Tony and Steve started dating, Tony has spent every of his waking minutes to brag about his amazing relationship with Captain America.Clint had an idea to mess with him and Bucky was happy to play along.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 143





	We say "I love you" but we ain't together

Tony and Steve have started officially dating a few weeks ago, and since then Tony has spent every of his waking minutes to brag non-chalantly about his amazing relationship with Captain America. It's definitely a change from his usual nick-naming and smart-mouthing, and even though that was annoying as hell, Bucky couldn't say he likes _this_ Tony any better.

"Ugh, he keeps telling me to bundle up. It's like he's my mom, man, can you believe this guy?"

_He probably never forgave himself for not being there when you almost froze your ass in the middle of nowhere years ago. That's Steve. _Bucky thought. But he's sure Tony knew that, the guy just want to brag, oh god. Bucky inhaled slowly, and before he even got to let out a big sigh, he heard his name and stopped dead.

"Hey, Bucky!"

Because that was Clint. He was in the next room, so his voice was loud but sickeningly sweet at the same time. The way he said his name tugged at Bucky and he forgot to exhale for a while. Then Bucky caught his too-quick wink and smiled. _What you're up to, Clint?_

"Yeah?", he called back

"It's cold outside, don't forget your scarf, socks, gloves, hat et cetera okay? Stay warm babe." 

"You too, doll. Tell me if you're cold alright?"

Then he turned to Tony, who was glancing back and forth between the two of them, his mouth quivered dramatically. _Great. We broke him._

"I'm sure fucking cold now. Cuddles?", Clint poked his head out to give Bucky the best puppy face he could possibly manage, which was ridiculous. Bucky chuckled but still played along

"Alright, I'm coming"

He excused himself and turned to leave, but not before Tony ran out of the room, probably asking for a supersoldier cuddle as well. 

"That was smooth, man", Clint gave him an excited bump on the (metal) arm, the clank sound of bones meet metal should've made the blond wince, instead he just went on like it's nothing. "Calling me doll without missing a beat? Hot."

Bucky chuckled, "You saw Tony's face?"

"It's like he thought I'm fucking his boyfriend's best friend or whatever. Yeah that was hilarious"

Bucky was sure he's overthinking, his mind picking at Clint's words in every angle. Not that he wanted this - this petty joke - to mean anything. It's just a fucking joke, after all. So he did his best to smile even bigger, playing it cool. "Yeah, fucking Tony"

***

That morning Tony had a proper breakfast for the first time in years - of course Steve wouldn't let him work all night ever again. Apparently everyone was more shocked about that ("Has the time stopped working or is this really Tony Stark at breakfast?") than the fact that he's wearing Steve's two-sizes-too-big sweater. So, of course he had to speak up about it.

"Steve said I looked cute in this, so of fucking course I'm stealing this! It smelled soooo good guys. Like muscles and freedom and-"

As Tony gushed about his boyfriend's smell, of all things, Bucky looked across the table at Clint, a silent conversation happened between them, with the additional suspicious glance from Natasha. Then with a slight nod, they took off their shirt and threw it at the other. Tony trailed off some times along this shirt-trading, frantically looking at the others, as if to say _Are you fucking seeing this?_

"Purple is definitely your color, Bucky!"

"And you might as well be shirtless, that shirt's too tight for you anyway."

"But I'm keeping this. Cause it smells like you", Clint said with his obnoxious voice.

"And what do I smell like?", Bucky asked, staring straight Tony, who's still looking for others' support. Unfortunately for him, they all knew how childish Clint and Bucky could be, so everyone just continued with their breakfast. Bruce tried to hold his laughter but somehow it transformed into a long cough.

"Like hot supersol-" 

Tony cut him off, his hands wavering crazily, "Wait wait wait, are you guys fucking? Or are you fucking with me?"

"Oh I don't know. I thought we made sure you hear it loud and clear?", Bucky deadpanned.

Tony looked at everyone one more time then let out a big sigh. He threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay I'm out of here"

Once Tony's out of the room, Bruce turned to Bucky and Clint, "You're being cruel to him. He's happy, he just wants to tell us that."

"Come on, Bruce, you almost choked on your cereals. It was funny!", Clint beamed. 

"Yes, it was", Bruce smiled, "But know when to stop, okay?"

"Yeah yeah", Clint waved his coffee mug half-heartedly. He took a sip as he wiggled his brows at Bucky. _It's not over yet, then._

***

"Okay so tell me if I'm imagining this or Steve Rogers the supersoldier is super super mad at me?"

"Yeah, he's definitely mad at you. At us, actually, but he thinks I only deserve puppy and sunshines"

_Yeah that you do_, Clint thought, then because this was not the time, damn it, he needed to fix this. He's been receiving Steve's disappointing look many times before, but not this rage look. 

"I think Tony told Steve about, you know, us? Remember the other day? The no-kiss-in-front-of-the-kid?"

Ah, that day. After Steve's came back from his morning run with Sam, he tried to plant a kiss on Tony's lips but the man has pulled away, grumbling "Not in front of the kids" as he glanced at Clint and Bucky. As if they would kiss each other right on the spot. Tony over-estimated him. Clint's always dedicated to his jokes, but even that was a bit too far. 

"Yeah. The lovebirds are unhappy. I'm not allowed to skip debrief. Everything is awful."

"So, I guess ... we stop messing with them?"

"I don't know. I don't really wanna throw away a good joke if it's still fresh", Clint pouted

"That's a weird way to put it, but yeah I think I get it"

"Right? I take my banter very seriously, just so you know". Clint held his head high all proudly.

"But you don't want Steve to hate you for pretending we're a thing just to mess with Tony?"

Okay, Clint knew Bucky's cooking up something, he knew it. His eyes were shining the same way he did before their missions. Specifically sniper missions. It's his _I got this _look. Clint found himself smiling to match his smirk. "Uh huh?" 

"Steve can't be mad at us if he thinks we're a thing for real, right? So we could, you know, pretend to date, but for real". 

Bucky was waiting patiently for him to process it, because he needed to process it. He would have to act all coupley with Bucky 24/7. It was one thing to act in love for a while, this long term dedication on the other hand, could end messy for his tiny crush on the guy. 

"I don't get how exactly it would work but I trust you. They better stop being mad at me."

***

So it's decided. The next couple of weeks, they were all over each other, no matter if it was a indirect tease at Tony and Steve or not. They took silly pictures of themselves and sent to the group chat (like Tony used to do). Bucky learned how to take Clint's coffee and determined to make a pot for him every morning (he can't cook like Steve so he had to improvise). Clint even had the nerves to come up to Tony and thanked him for helping them get together. They were both some kind of method actors, as this felt so fucking real sometimes Bucky forgot it was all fake. And being with Clint felt nice, even if it's just for giggles and shit. He told himself not to think too much about it, but in between the fake heart-eyes and innocent touches, Bucky couldn't help his racing heartbeat. This was his idea, damn it.

"Oh god I just want this day to be over!", Clint announced loudly as soon as they got out of the Quinjet. "Make it better, Bucky"

He wrapped his arms around Clint's torso, hugging him tight, breathing him in. Since when had the smell of Clint became so familiar? He felt Clint relaxed in his arms and decided to stay like that just a bit longer, before planting a kiss on his back and let go. His superhearing caught a whispering "I love you" before he left. It rang warm in his belly, and maybe his day was a bit better, too.

He couldn't tell if Clint's smile was an act or not anymore, but sure Clint didn't stop beaming like a child that entire day.

***

Clint told himself he's strictly following Tony and Steve's steps, but he's not sure anymore. Maybe they crossed some lines, because even Natasha was starting to believe they're dating.

And then that night Clint stayed in Bucky's bed, for no reasons at all except they're fake-dating, right? Well if Bucky asked, he'd say Steve sleeps in Tony's bed too, but he didn't. So Clint's happy being warm in Bucky's arms, their fingers intertwined in front of Clint's belly. He fell asleep so quickly he didn't even have the time to think about what was this they're doing.

***

"Do you think our joke is getting kinda un-fresh?"

Bucky's tried his best not to wake Clint as he got up to make him the first coffee pot of the day, but when he came back, the guy already sat up, his hair sticking out everywhere. He looked so soft and comfortable Bucky would've kissed him if he hasn't just talked about stopping this ... whatever this was.

"What? You want to break up?", Bucky tried to sound careless, it's his way of coping, whatever. But damn, he's definitely developed some feelings because just thinking about it hurted.

"It's just a fake break up, anyways. Oh, thanks for the coffee". Clint made grabby hands at Bucky, and he handed him the pot, the words slip out before he thought twice about it. "Anything for you, doll". He's been so used to this it didn't occur to him that he should stop, nobody's watching, afterall.

Clint took a big gulp and moaned in satisfaction. "Or maybe we should just keep going so you can keep making me morning coffee." 

_Is Clint looking for lame reasons to keep this going?_

Bucky took a deep breath. "Hey, I'm taking a big guess here so don't laugh at me if I'm wrong okay?"

Clint narrowed his brows, his eyes clear and serious as the cafeine kicks in, or maybe because Bucky's looking like he was about to have a fucking panic attack right there.

"Do you really want us to stop, I don't know, being this close?", Bucky could see a subtle drop on Clint's face, so he continued. "Because I don't. But I don't want to have to have an excuse to do this. So how about we date for real this time? Not just copying Steve and Tony, but like, our things this time?"

Clint nodded silently for a while, then smiled "Morning coffee's our thing. I'm sure Steve doesn't know Tony's usuals. And he never play along with Tony's shit. And Tony won't ever let him play with his hair. And I bet they never -"

"Ok I get it. Now stop talking about them so I could kiss you properly"

Their lips met with a familiar softness, Clint mumbled a familiar "I love you" between his breaths, but this still felt so new. Bucky reminded himself to take time to savor it. It was, in a way, their first kiss afterall.


End file.
